Warwick's Kings Elementary to close

Lobbying effort saves Park Ave. school in village

WARWICK — In a surprise turnaround Monday, the Warwick Valley school board decided to close Kings Elementary school, following a massive public relations and lobbying effort by residents and businesses of the Village of Warwick.

WARWICK — In a surprise turnaround Monday, the Warwick Valley school board decided to close Kings Elementary school, following a massive public relations and lobbying effort by residents and businesses of the Village of Warwick.

The decision infuriated Kings Elementary parents, who had believed the board would follow the recommendation of district Superintendent Ray Bryant, who had suggested closing Park Avenue Elementary in the village.

"Betrayed," said parent Keith Parsons, of Chester, describing the way he felt about the 6-3 board decision made at the tail end of the board's Monday meeting, "by the school district, by the village and the residents within it."

Bryant said in early March that one of the district's three elementary schools would have to close to help bridge a $2.5 million to $3 million projected budget gap, the result of years of reductions in state education aid. The district is also struggling with declining enrollment, expected to result in more cuts in the years to come, Bryant said.

Bryant had recommended closing Park Avenue, as Kings offers more space to absorb the additional students. But residents and businesses of the village's downtown argued that Park Avenue is the only school in the village with both sentimental and historic value. A grass-roots campaign to save Park Avenue obtained 1,800 signatures on a petition calling for the school to remain open.

The effort to save Park Avenues appears to have worked. In the end, the school board even changed the wording of its resolution from a vote to close Park Avenue to a vote to close King's Elementary, shocking many parents of Kings students, who claimed that politics had seeped into the decision-making.

Bryant emphasized that the decision reflected economics more than politics. Indeed, it is very likely that Park Avenue Elementary will also close within the next two years, if the current enrollment drop in the district continues, Bryant said.

Warwick resident Kim McGowan, one of the first members of the public to comment at Monday night's meeting, implored supporters of both schools to channel their anger at the state, rather than at each other or the school district. "Whether your preferred school remains open or closes as a result of tonight's vote, I urge you to remain fired up about the way that New York is abandoning its children," she said.

Such words did little to ease the hurt feelings of King's supporters, who vowed revenge, not only on the district but on the Village of Warwick itself. "Personally, I'm not going to spend one more dime at a village store or gas station again," Parsons said.